Andrew Spicer Andrew2.Spicer@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Cultural Production
The "Other War": Images of the second world war in service comedies
Spicer, Andrew H.
Authors
Contributors
Susan Bennett
Editor
Stephen Caunce
Editor
Eva Mazierska
Editor
Susan Sydeny-Smith
Editor
John Walton
Editor
Abstract
This chapter argues, following Angus Calder, that there was an official line of commemoration of the Second World War: a mythic construction that celebrated heroism, courage, resourcefulness, loyalty and patriotism. It valorised the virtues of the responsible middle class and of officers. Drawing on a range of cultural sources, The chapter concentrates on a counter-hegemonic construction: the 'other war' - a war of skivers, shirkers and petty criminals out for individual gain who displayed the reverse qualities to those lauded in the official myth. The mode for this alternative construction was comedy, which could present this disturbing and unsettling construction under the guise of 'harmless fun'. The chapter focuses on a group of service comedies made from 1945-65 that celebrated the wit, respurcefulness and bloodymindedness of the working-class ordinary serviceman and woman which were highly popular and so spoke to a deep-seated irreverence in Britsh culture.
Citation
Spicer, A. H. (2004). The "Other War": Images of the second world war in service comedies. In S. Bennett, S. Caunce, E. Mazierska, S. Sydeny-Smith, & J. Walton (Eds.), Relocating Britishness, 167-182. Manchester University Press
Publication Date | Nov 1, 2004 |
---|---|
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Pages | 167-182 |
Series Title | Studies in Popular Culture |
Book Title | Relocating Britishness |
ISBN | 9780719070266 |
Keywords | British culture, second world war, service comedy, mocking humour, commemoration, official myths |
Publisher URL | http://us.macmillan.com/relocatingbritishness/StephenCaunce |
Additional Information | Additional Information : 'This extract is taken from the author's original manuscript and has not been edited. The definitive, published, version of record is available here: http://us.macmillan.com/relocatingbritishness/StephenCaunce |
Files
Service Comedies.rtf
(165 Kb)
Other
You might also like
Combined blogs
(2022)
Working Paper
‘4 All the UK’: The policies and politics of relocation
(2022)
Journal Article
Channel 4 at 40: The TV revolution
(2022)
Presentation / Conference
Exploring stardom: Sean Connery
(2022)
Presentation / Conference
Sean Connery: Beyond Bond
(2022)
Exhibition / Performance